Realm of Myths and Legends

She then released a small sigh and continued, "However, if I'm being honest, even calling it a guess is a little much. The little princess of the Fifth Great Clan is rumored to have tens of main bodies and tens—no, maybe even hundreds of auxiliary bodies spread all throughout the Mortal Realm. Finding her true body is something that even those closest to her may not necessarily be able to do."

'I knew she was the cautious type after what happened in the Secret Realm, but... She's even more careful than I anticipated.'

The Luxia that traveled to the Secret Realm with Izroth and the others turned out to be one of the main bodies Tal'Yah spoke of.

During their time in the Secret Realm, Sychia ended up destroying the Luxia main body that had accompanied them. Therefore, Izroth was aware that she had multiple bodies. Nonetheless, he did not expect the number of other bodies to be so plentiful.

'It looks like I will have to pay a visit to the Mother of All Forests sooner than I thought. However, it will have to wait until after the assault on the Night Lord's Crypt.'

"I suppose a promise is a promise. Feel free to ask whatever questions you'd like." Izroth said in a carefree manner.

When Izroth said those words, Tal'Yah's eyes lit up. She wasted no time coming up with her first question.

...

Approximately ten minutes later...

Tal'Yah had been asking Izroth questions practically nonstop for the past ten minutes straight.

What was his relationship with the Seventh Demon Clan? Where did he find the Seventh Origin Flames Necklace? How much did he know about the Seven Flames of Tal and the history of their clan?

Those were just some of the few questions that came up in their conversation. However, every time Izroth answered Tal'Yah's question, she became increasingly astonished.

From his meeting with Tal'Nis in the crusade to being entrusted by their ancestor to seek out the descendants of the Seventh Demon Clan—Tal'Yah could not help but have her breath taken away.

Tal'Yah closed her eyes as a stream of tears fell down the side of her face.

"After all these years, we just assumed the ancestor had abandoned us, but... To think the ancestor was trying their hardest to re-establish contact with us...! We believed ourselves to have been discarded and forgotten, and yet all this time...! As the current head of the Seventh Demon Clan, I am greatly ashamed...!" Tal'Yah said as she tightly clenched her fists.

For Tal'Yah, there were countless times she thought about taking her younger brother and leaving behind all the responsibility that came along with being the clan head. Since their ancestor had forsaken them, why should she devote her life to the survival of such a clan? That was a thought that invaded her mind and lingered within its depths more times than she could remember.

However, after hearing the truth from Izroth and knowing that their ancestor still cared this much for them after all the generations had gone by... That she never gave up despite there being seemingly no way forward—how could Tal'Yah's heart not be moved?

Izroth remained silent and allowed Tal'Yah to sort through her intense feelings. He understood exactly how much it meant to a declining clan to see a glimmer of hope.

'During that time, perhaps if we also had an ancestor like Tal'Nis who was this persistent, then...'

Izroth was reminded of some unpleasant memories during his time in the Seven Realms.

'Forget it. The past is not something that can be held on to if one wishes to move forward.'

Izroth buried those memories back deep into the depths of his mind. At the same time, Tal'Yah gently wiped her eyes as the tears stopped flowing from her eyes.

"I am embarrassed by the unpleasant sight that I have shown to this benefactor. I hope you can excuse my pitiful display and forgive my past behavior." Tal'Yah said in a sincere manner with a weak smile.

She then continued, "If you wish to seek revenge or carry out punishment, I will not resist. I only ask that your anger be directed toward me and not my Seventh Demon Clan."

Even though her goal was not to kill him, Tal'Yah was not so shameless as to ignore her past transgressions against Izroth.

In the end, no matter the reason, she still attacked him. If she had seriously harmed him while carrying out the mission she was given, Tal'Yah would have denied the Seventh Demon Clan a chance to rise up once more.

Izroth removed the Seventh Origin Flames Necklace from his inventory once again. This time, however, he held the necklace out towards Tal'Yah.

"This is called the Seventh Origin Flames Necklace. It is an item that was entrusted to me by your ancestor. I was told that if I ever encounter this generation's head of the Seventh Demon Clan, I should relinquish ownership of this necklace to them." Izroth explained as Tal'Yah carefully took the necklace into the palms of her hands.

"This warmth... It's so comfortable." Tal'Yah muttered as she closed her eyes and felt a wave of gentle flames wash over her.

The next moment, the necklace in Tal'Yah's hand emitted a bright blue glow. Then, in the blink of an eye, blue flames exploded forth from the Seventh Origin Flames Necklace!

These flames engulfed Tal'Yah and covered every part of her body. However, instead of screaming out in pain or panicking, Tal'Yah seemed to be in an incredibly relaxed state as she did not attempt to resist the flames.

A few seconds later, the flames receded from Tal'Yah's body and converged a little less than one meter before her.

'Oh? This is...'

Out of nowhere, the blue flames became restless and started to move about.

Tal'Yah finally opened her eyes just as the blue flames finished taking shape.

Bang!

Tal'Yah immediately dropped to her knees and kowtowed in front of the flames.

"Tal'Yah, 18th Head of the Seventh Demon Clan, greets the Heavenly Flame Ancestor!" Tal'Yah cried out as her body trembled and a flow of tears escaped her eyes despite her best efforts to contain them.

The blue flames had transformed into a humanoid figure. Their physical features were difficult to make out since they were made entirely out of the blue flames; however, their form was one that Izroth recognized immediately. It was the Lady of Everlasting Rain, Tal'Nis!

'No, it's different from those times.'

This version of Tal'Nis was made purely from flames and seemed ethereal in its presence. It was not like the fragment of Tal'Nis that Izroth met during the crusade or the phantom of Tal'Nis summoned by the Relic of the First Tal.

Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!

Without warning, three cloaked figures leaped out from behind the nearby trees.

'So, they finally decided to show themselves. Though I can't say I'm too surprised.'

Izroth had long since detected the presence of these three individuals. However, since he was already aware of their identity and they did not show signs of bloodlust, he decided to simply ignore their presence.

But, even if Izroth ignored their presence, he knew that they would not be able to sit still in front of these flames.

"This descendant greets the Heavenly Flame Ancestor!" The three cloaked figures said in unison as they instantly removed their hoods.

They were the same three individuals who had been by Tal'Yah's side since the beginning of her mission, Tal'Han, Kol'Jil, and Zel'Kan.

The three stopped behind Tal'Yah and mimicked the clan head's actions of paying their respects.

"Rise, my descendants of the flames." The flames of Tal'Nis' words echoed.

Although the flames did not have a mouth from which to speak, everyone within the vicinity could still hear the words spoken by it clearly.

"We dare not! We have shamed the Seventh Demon Clan!" Tal'Yah declared.

"We have shamed the Seventh Demon Clan!" Tal'Han, Kol'Jil, and Zel'Kan echoed.

"My foolish descendants. You have survived up until this point despite the catastrophe that occurred many centuries ago. Your enduring to this point is the furthest thing from shaming the Seventh Demon Clan that I've founded. So, I say, once more—rise, my descendants of the flame." The flames of Tal'Nis stated.

Tal'Yah rose to her feet along with the other three members of the Seventh Demon Clan. Not a single one of them was able to hold back their tears upon facing the flames of Tal'Nis.

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